over the mountains and through the woods, to durango we would go...tuesday 6/20/06

everything i had read about taos made me think that it was going to be the beauty spot of new mexico. i actually didn't find it to be all that, and i don't think pam did either. it was fine, but not to die for.

we headed out of taos going west with the goal being to go through farmington, see the muffler man (cousin of the albuquerque lumberjack man), go to four corners and then check in our stuff at mesa verde, change and go to durango for dinner. right. we were about 4 hours late leaving taos, and had no idea exactly how long it would take us to get anywhere.

so we ended up going past the earthships on the way up into the mountains. these were pretty cool, and we took some pictures of them. we had looked into staying overnight in one of them when we were planning the first trip. we didn't realize until we went past them that those were the earthships we had read about. they were made of all sorts of materials: rubber tires, bottles, empty cans. they were all solar and most were built into the land somehow.

after we left taos, the first thing on our list to visit was the bridge over the rio grande river. it is a pretty deep gorge, and both of us were sort of scared shitless up on the bridge. the wind was blowing and i wasn't all that sure i wasn't going to get swept over the railing and down, down, down! pam took pictures of us with both cameras, and we got the hell off the bridge and headed up into the mountains, with the little car chugging slowly along. once we got over the mountains, we came down into chama, new mexico and ran right into the annual RIDE THE ROCKIES bike race which was going on. the leg we saw had begun in pagosa springs. this bicycle ride is the american version of the le tour de france. at this point we were hungry, but all there was in chama was a DQ, and it took forever to get served. pam actually left the car and went to the service station across the ways and got ice and returned before i ever got someone to take our order. however, the burgers we got were really, really good, so that made it ok.

we followed the road on west and ended up going through the jicarillo apache indian reservation. dulce is the pueblo center, and as we were driving through, i noticed gas for $2.81/gallon at the apache service station. i whipped the car around and went back for gas, and while we were there, we talked to pat, one of the mechanics, and another guy who told us we were 4 -4 1/2 hours from 4 corners. as it was 2 in the afternoon, we realized then we were going to have to go to plan b to get to durango on time for linda's surprise birthday dinner. pat told us about a shortcut over the mountains and around navajo lake dam that would take us to durango. it turned out to be a great choice.

we listened to a local station in dulce and they apparently were interviewing individuals who were running for the tribal council. we were both struck by the beauty of the land, and the poverty that was visible around us. pam wondered out loud about why these people could live here in this lovely place, yet have so little. this led to a discussion of the history of what white america did to the native americans a hundred or so years ago. basically, we picked the worst places and stuck them there. this reservation is just one of many that are located in lovely, spiritual places, which sadly also happen to be places where there is no industry short of the casinos, and therefore very little for the people to do as far as jobs are concerned.

as we crossed the rez, it became another one of those places that had a very spiritual vibe to it. we stopped at the edge and had our pictures taken by the rez sign and swiped some more rocks. i had to back up to get them. during this trip, the places that seemed to have the most peace attached to them were also places in the middle of nowhere. they were stunning in their emptiness.

we found pat's shortcut and headed to navajo dam, which was a startling blue color. there were some boats out on the water, and i drove down the center of the narrow 2 lane road that seemed to go over the dam. this apparently is a recreation place judging by the number of boats. we ended up in ignacio and then went on up to durango.

we were scheduled to meet linda and chuck and their friends at RANDY'S RESTAURANT. chuck had contacted us before we left and asked if we could surprise linda a day early on her birthday. there was another couple, ellis and caroline, who had driven from grand tetons national park just to be there for dinner! they were friends from the park service. rick and leslie were visiting chuck and linda the first part of the week at the condo in pagosa springs.

we ended up changing our clothes in a parking lot! this was pretty funny and another one of those things you laugh about, as each one of us took turns blocking out the view of the other while disrobing! we got to durango a bit early, and ended up in the first of several walmarts looking for eye stuff for pam. we also bought clip on sunglasses. pam had a tough time with the dry air and her eyes for the first few days. she also had some allergy problems. both of us developed "new mexico nosebleed" as our noses dried due to the lack of humidity.

linda was pretty surprised to see the two of us and we had a wonderful dinner, although it was expensive. you know you are in trouble when they bring you a menu and there are no prices on it! i settled on appetizers of coconut shrimp, spinach and artichoke soup and a salad. pam had beef tips and a salad. both of us had been looking for something green as an alternative to the new mexico carbs we had been eating at practically every meal!

we left durango around dusk and headed towards mesa verde national park, which was about an hour away. when we got to the park, there was no one there to take our fee, so we proceeded to climb up the twisty turnny mountains headed for the lodge. i think pam was whiteknuckling it the whole way as i whipped the car around those curves. at various points we could see down on the town of cortez below. we had some problems finding the lodge, and finally got there around 10pm. our room was one for the disabled, which we never did understand. it also had a king bed, versus, once again, the 2 doubles we had booked. however, you could have stuck 6 people in the king size bed, and pam sleeps in one place and never moves, so it was fine; i didn't kick her or disturb her.

we sat out on the balcony and talked deep brains for awhile. you would think after being stuck in each other's company for several days we would run out of things to talk about. i don't remember what we discussed; i only remember that it seemed to be deep brains stuff. we couldn't see what was out there in front of us, but the stars were out and it was very peaceful, again. it was a nice way to end a great day.